What if Abraham Lincoln LOST the 1864 Election?

Abraham Lincoln, today, is widely hailed as one of, if not the single greatest President in American history, due to his role in preserving the Union and abolishing slavery during the Civil War. So, it may come as a surprise that, in 1864, Lincoln was actually incredibly unpopular, and, had a couple key events gone differently, it's very likely that Lincoln could have been voted out, and the North made peace with the South. So what if that changed? What if, in an alternate timeline, Lincoln lost reelection in the 1864 Election? Enjoy!

MUSIC:

Video Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:36 Background
6:14 Scenario

[Ussonan-Foderation]

I didn't lose. I merely failed to win!

[MonsieurDean]

The man in the blue union uniform, running for the democratic party, he look like william howard taft understudy. He look like he lose battles to general lee for a living. How is that even a job?

[maxnorton]

There’s an argument to be made that slavery was already fading out until the invention of the cotton gin, which increased production of cotton in the South, and increased the value of keeping slavery in place. What would have happened had the cotton gin never been invented?

[mattthesilentRED]

George B McClellan: I didn't lose! I merely failed to win!

[danielsantiagourtado]

Suggestion josh: What if Franz Ferdinand survives and reforms the austro-hungarian Empire?

[cosmedelustrac]

What if Lincoln kept Hannibal Hamlin as VP and he became president in 1865?

[petebondurant]

There is no way in hell that Southerners, having held off the Union for three and a half years (in your scenario) are going to just give up their independence and live under the Stars and Stripes.

[TheHatersarebad]

I don't know about this timeline, seems too optimistic in my opinion. Still an interesting video, can't wait to see what's next.

[roamer]

So protect slavery with a Constitutional Amendment and everyone lives happily ever after . Your idea makes me appreciate Lincoln and Sherman even more

[catmonarchist]

What if Lincoln pulled a Phineas Gage and survived being shot in the head but came out aggressive and rude?

[timmyrich]

Nit pick, prewar there were very few abolitionists. I read somewhere that percentage wise there were less abolitionists in the north than modern libertarians today.

[Robert_L_Peters]

Alternate history always seems to turn out better than real history

[bigdoghenry]

I disagree just a little bit. The cultural forces that pushed for the abolition of slavery still existed. You would have millions of people in the north mainly New England absolutely horrified that slavery is constitutional protected. I think that would set up a second Civil War this time with the north succeeding a few decades down the line.

[ammazer]

RIP to all the brave men who died fighting in the Civil War, God bless them.

[PrussiaAustriaConfederal]

Amazing video Josh! Love your content!

[timetravelinghistorian]

Could you do an alternate 1880 election video? I recently finished listening to "The Last Lincoln Republican" about the 1880 Presidential Election and there are so many scenarios that could of happened that didn't. Like Garfield not being nominated and Grant or Blaine getting nominated or elected. Or Hancock, the Dem, being elected, making him the first Democratic president elected since 1856 instead of Grover Cleveland in 1884. I think some of those scenarios might make for an interesting video

[danielsantiagourtado]

Lincoln deserves more attention! How about what if he survived his assasination attempt?

[EnclaveApex]

The funniest part about this is that it was LINCOLN who co-authored the Corwin amendment which would've enshrined slavery.
Razorfist has a great video going over this and more.

[PrussiaAustriaConfederal]

Suggestion Josh, What if Austria kept sea access after ww1?

[dorkking]

Hard to imagine a world where slavery continued leading to more unity. You didn't really get into the decade it would have been repealed. I imagine a us with more recent slavery would be more bitterly divided by race issues.